Pete Hegseth’s mother called him a ‘woman abuser’ during his 2018 divorce, NYT reports

Pete Hegseththe former Fox News host who was named president-elect Donald Trumphis pick for defense secretary, is facing new controversy this week after The New York Times published a 2018 email in which his mother accused him of being “an abuser of women.”

According to the Times, Hegseth’s mother, Penelope Hegseth, sent the email in April 2018, three months before his divorce decree was issued. In the email, she expressed her dismay at how her son treated his then-wife, Samantha Hegseth, calling his behavior “despicable and abusive” and telling her to “get help and take a look honest about you”.

She wrote:

You are a woman abuser – that is the ugly truth and I have no respect for any man who disgraces, lies, cheats, sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego. You are that man (and have been for years) and as your mother it pains and embarrasses me to say this, but it is the sad, sad truth.

I’m no saint, far from it.. so don’t throw that in my face. but your abuse of women over the years (dishonesty, sleeping around, betrayal, demeaning, contempt) needs to be let go.

…

It’s time someone (I wish it was a strong man) stood up to your abusive behavior and called it out, especially against women.

The Times said it obtained a copy of the email from someone “with connections to the Hegseth family”. Penelope Hegseth told the media that she sent the email “in a fit of rage” during her son’s divorce and immediately sent another email apologizing. She also denied the first email, saying her allegations were not true and that her son “is a good father, husband.”

Hegseth did not immediately provide the Times with a copy of the follow-up email. (Neither MSNBC nor NBC News obtained a copy of either email.) Pete Hegseth’s lawyer declined to comment, but Trump’s transition team provided a statement saying it was “disgraceful but not surprising that the NYT publishes a story about one out of context. excerpt from an illegally obtained private conversation between a mother and her son.”

The report of his mother’s scathing rebuke adds another layer of controversy to Pete Hegseth’s expected nomination for defense secretary. His lack of experience in a prominent leadership role — among other reasons — has raised alarm among Democrats. Since Trump announced Hegseth as his pick, the former Fox News host history of controversial comments reappeared and a 2017 sexual assault investigation against him it came out. (No charges have been filed against Hegseth in the investigation and he claimed the encounter was consensual.)

Hegseth’s confirmation will likely come down to Senate Republicans, who have a slim majority in the next Congress. Although a few of them expressed themselves somewhat half-heartedly support for Hegsethhis confirmation seems far from certain.